LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT

Although I can’t believe January has already come and gone, I am elated that we are halfway through winter, and spring is right around the corner. I am even more excited about all the fun, exciting and compelling Club events and activities that are forthcoming in the month of February and beyond!

First, I want to highlight some outstanding events that took place in the month of January and bring you up to date on the work of the Board of Governors. Once again, the MAC had the honor and privilege of hosting a banquet to present the MAC Hermann Trophy, the most coveted individual honor in NCAA Division I soccer, to the men’s and women’s collegiate players of the year. Congratulations to this year’s women’s winner, Michelle Cooper from Duke University, and men’s winner, Duncan McGuire from Creighton. I would also like to thank fellow MAC Member and “broadcast-extraordinaire,” Tom Ackerman, for serving as the Master of Ceremonies. His interactions and interviews with the award winners, their coaches, and featured speaker, Fox Sports lead World Cup analyst, Alexi Lalas made for a very entertaining evening.

Also in January, the MAC was honored to host the St. Louis Blues inaugural Blues Hall of Fame Induction ceremony and the 63rd annual St. Louis Baseball Writers Dinner. I would like to especially recognize Wally Smith, Chef Bart Philips, Katie Mauer, Courtney Hake, Stephanie Leadlove, Mensur Becirovic and the entire Downtown staff for their hard work and diligence in hosting these two very special events as they showcased all that the MAC has to offer.

This past month was very busy for The Board of Governors. Of most importance, at a special meeting held on Jan. 12, the Board of Governors elected the 2023/2024 Officers. Congratulations to the following Governors who will take their leadership positions in May 2023:

President – Neal Perryman

Fist Vice President – Cheri McLaughlin

Second Vice President – Mark Niemeyer

Treasurer – Mark McClanahan

Secretary – Carter Alexander

Our Club and the Board of Governors are very fortunate to have such an exceptional and committed group of leaders. I look forward to working with President-elect Perryman and the entire class of newly elected officers in the coming months. Less than 48 hours after the Officers’ election, the Board of Governors met on Saturday, Jan. 14 for a morning strategy session focused on several topics, the most important of which was finalizing the position profile in connection with the search for the Club’s next general manager. This position profile has been posted and the search committee will work with consultants from GSI Executive Search in the coming weeks and months to identify candidates, review resumes and conduct preliminary interviews. Rest assured that I will use this space to keep our Members up-to-date and informed regarding this most important process.

Finally, as it relates to the Board of Governors, active and engaged leaders are imperative to the long-term viability and success of our Club. The Board of Governors election is right around the corner. Specifically, prospective Governor candidates may submit letters of intent to the Nominating Committee by Tuesday, Feb. 28, election campaigns will begin on Monday, April 24 and the new Board Class will be elected on Thursday, May 4. If you are interested in running for the Board of Governors or hearing more about the election process and/or serving on one of the Club’s standing Committees please reach out to Past President Dan Lett, Past President Angie Minges or any other member of the Nominating Committee (a full list of Nominating Committee members is available upon request).

As I reviewed the Club Calendar in preparation for writing this letter, I was overwhelmed by all that the Club has to offer in the month of February. First and foremost, as was previewed in last month’s Cherry Diamond, on Saturday, Feb. 11, we will kick off a year of celebrating the Club’s 120th Anniversary with a gala. In advance of the upcoming first season of Major League Soccer in St. Louis, the Club will host an MAC Speaker’s Series event on Friday, Feb. 17 featuring St. Louis’ own Taylor Twellman and several members of the leadership, staff and roster from St. Louis City SC. Thursday, Feb. 23 marks the return of the Club’s Annual Boxing Night in the Missouri Room (to quote my good friend, fellow Governor and parttime ring announcer, Justin Fowler, “LET’S GET READY TO RUMMMBLE!). Finally, we will gather on Saturday, Feb. 25 in the spirit of camaraderie, competition and friendship to celebrate Good Fellowship Day. I encourage you to check the Club calendar on the MAC website for additional Club events in the month of February.

It makes me proud to be part of a Club that values the best staff and exceptional Members. I want to recognize the Downtown Clubhouse’s distinguished employee who works diligently behind the scenes.

Deborah Cartwright

Title: Lead Laundry Attendant

Start Date: June 2021

Deborah, thank you for your rear-round dedication and service to our hotel guests.

Have a great February, and I look forward to seeing you at the Club!

Brent Beumer, President Missouri Athletic Club

Letter From The General Manager

One of the biggest challenges I walked into as general manager of the Missouri Athletic Club was dealing with the Club’s underfunded pension liability. It was a daunting task that seemed far, far away from any resolution other than continuing to feed it close to $500,000 per year for ever and ever.

For the last ten years, we have been looking for solutions and potentially the right time, the right opportunity and the right market conditions where it might make sense and be financially practical to transfer the Missouri Athletic Club’s pension liability to an annuity provider. When I started, the pension fund balance was in the $7 million range. The actuarial studies at the time showed an unfunded balance of approximately $4.5 million. That’s a big hill to climb!

In September 2014, the Pension Sinking Fund was born. We earmarked most of that year’s dues increase and established by Board Resolution a $20,000/month contribution into a restricted fund for pension purposes only. We also created our 10-Year Cash Flow Projection working tool as part of our annual planning process with the first line representing these deposits to underscore the importance of addressing the liability. Shortly thereafter a long-term loan that the club had been paying on for years at $24,000 per month was finally paid off. With that loan gone, we dedicated an additional $20,000 per month to the pension fund, upping the monthly contributions to $40,000 per month.

These steps were all well and good, but the numerous fees related to the pension consistently seemed to pile up. To release the pension fund’s liability from the MAC, market conditions needed to be favorable for an insurance company to make the purchase and the unfunded portion needed to be in a realistic range that the Club could afford. Strong market performance and rising interest rates finally came into view this past year. Our team refers to this and the timing as “the perfect storm.”

We were ready, had done our homework, and had our game plan and players in place. I’m very happy to report that we successfully transferred the entire pension liability to United of Omaha, the winning bidder between Christmas and New Year’s. Our team members were all on vacation that week but jumped in on seven or eight zoom calls with follow-up work after each. Our number one goal in all of this was to be sure there was no negative impact on any of our current or future retirees that are eligible to participate. That number one goal was accomplished. As to the outlook and impact, the following highlights a number of factors.

F The cost to transfer the liability was roughly $1.2 million versus recent 10-year Cash Flow Projections of $3.4 - $5 million – a savings of $2.2 - $3.8 million.

F PBGC premiums for the next 10 years were projected to be nearly $1.8 million – The MAC will save that entire amount.

F We will also save an estimated $350,000 in administrative costs over the next 10 years (actuarial services, audit, legal, investment management fees, etc.)

F We also achieved annuity premium savings of $475,000 thanks to due diligence during the annuity provider selection process and relentless work of our team.

Without forward thinking and strategic planning, we would not have been in the position to act as we did. Kudos to the entire Pension Subcommittee and especially our Chief Financial Officer Pam Roth and Chris Maurer our Human Resources Director. Also, a huge shout-out to our distinguished Chair, Past Governor Chris Michalak. Gov. Michalak was there every step of the way, showing up for employee meetings, answering emails, and sitting on the phone for countless hours to get this done. The money was transferred on Dec. 28, 2022, strategically timed thus eliminating any further cost in fees.

Again, all of our pensioners are wholly taken care of and will see no difference in their benefits.

Governor Michalak said about this effort, “Truly a remarkable outcome and it was 1000% a team effort! Pam and her crew killed it, and our partners were professionals through and through.”

Congratulations to the team. It’s been great to check this box, and I’m looking forward to checking off a few more before I leave my post.

One of them being the Downtown Youth & Family Center (YFC) initiative. We are close on our fundraising goals and are still accepting donations for the installation of a new gymnasium floor and main entrance enhancements!

A huge “Thank You” to Past Governor Chris Hyams and his company GS&S Construction for their time and expertise shepherding us through this impactful undertaking. Past Governor Hyams and GS&S Construction have been instrumental in the 1903 Bar expansion and did all the work on our fitness renovations at the West Clubhouse. We appreciate all their time and expertise in ensuring the YFC renovations move forward successfully. I encourage any business or individual interested in directly impacting the lives of our downtown neighbors to contribute to our $200,000 goal. To the MAC Members who have already donated – thank you for your support! To donate, visit mac-sportsfoundation.org. Contact Kara Kelpe at kkelpe@mac-stl.org to get involved.

This is a big one that we need to check off our list as well. Happy New Year Everyone!

See you at the Club!

Wally Smith, General Manager Missouri Athletic Club